How long has it been since you’ve had a friend wind you up in a swing and then let go and you spin so fast that suddenly you are staying in one spot but the world is spinning in a widening circle around you and you are breathless with delight? The swings are still there. …
When I visit in the eastern part of the country, I love to visit old cemeteries. So many old stories are contained in the family plots! This one interested me, in that all of the gravestones seemed to be tightly contained behind a walled barrier, as though saying, this is our plot, all ours, and don’t you…
One of the true joys of photography is that it refreshes the mind’s eye with things half-remembered, yet totally true. This picture of an aspen grove was taken one hot summer morning. The hiker and her dog ahead of me are enjoying the beautiful summer weather with me, a light breeze blowing, the heat on…
I love that exact moment when a wild creature acknowledges my existence. They look at me, and for a moment time is suspended and one species recognizes the other. Trees, of course, are also aware of our being. Mere plants as well. Okay, then, what about the rocks. Do the rocks know I exist? Can they…
Book Review: Seeking Enlightenment Hat by Hat by Nevada Barr Because I like both mysteries and nature writing, I’ve always been drawn to the books by Nevada Barr. Her work features strong women who go against the odds, and win. Her heroine, Anna Pidgeon, a park ranger, has been trapped in a desert sinkhole, underwater in…
I spotted this old stable door on a recent walk. I wish I could have known the horse that lived here. I could tell a lot from the evidence left behind, though. Note the owner’s cement reinforced foundation, the reinforcing bolts on the lower edges of the stable door, the double lock on the middle, and…
When I was researching the setting for the latest Pegasus Quincy novel, I wanted to include a scene where Silver Delaney and Rory Stevens meet in a bar. But just not any bar. This one had to be the local neighborhood hangout, where after work the lineup at the old wood bar is three deep….
When I set out to write the Pegasus Quincy mystery series, I knew the first one, Death in Copper Town, had to take place in a mining town on the slopes of the Verde Valley. To make it realistic, I had to include the Ailanthus trees ubiquitous to that part of the Valley. Apple trees in the…
Even experienced wordsmiths struggle to portray deep emotion in their writing. It’s as hard as mining copper from sulfur-laden rocks. Writers may either tell about the emotion, for example, “He felt really, really angry.” Or, they may use the “dot-dot-dot” bypass popular when describing sex in 40s novels: “They entered the bedroom, the lights went…